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This World of Salacious Hanks and Skeins….

We had this really fun moment on my facebook page last night. Phillip and I have been watching “American Horror Story, Season 8, Apocalypse.” And as the writers did in a previous season, “Coven,” they made Stevie Nicks the “original white witch.” Bah, I thought. REALLY? Oh, come now, I wrote, “We all know Kate BUSH is the REAL white witch.”

The whole ordeal on facebook was just a bunch of fun. People chiming in to declare which of the two women was the real “white witch.” Again, the whole thing was done all in good fun. I respect Stevie, but I admire Kate. Someone even reminded me, “Seems like a lot of people who disagree have never even HEARD of Kate Bush.” (Some people really, REALLY are defensive about Stevie Nicks. AH, but, we do the same with our Kate!)

But, what on Earth does this have to do with anything? Well, I noticed my numbers rising in recent days, thanks to my Christmas Bears. And by numbers I mean “followers.” I’ve never liked that term, “followers.” You that read my blog, my books, buy my bears, you’re not “following,” you’re participating a life that I get to share with you. I think I said once, “I don’t have followers. I have readers who are leaders in their own right.” Yes. I believe that. You’re not following me, you’re sharing with me an unusual relationship between a man who screams with his words and quiets with his knitting and….well, you.

Now, back to the facebook post. When I wrote the comment about Nicks V. Bush, I saw my numbers (ahem, “followers”) drop. Oh, it could be for anything. “HOW DARE YOU SHIT TALK STEVIE!” Boom, out they go. “I THOUGHT I WAS HERE FOR KNITTING!” Slam, goes the door as they bolt. “WITCH CRAFT???? I THOUGHT YOU WERE A CATHOLIC!” A heavy “harumph” as they take flight. Woo!

I’m old fashioned. When leaving a party you disapprove of, thank the host kindly for inviting you, then quietly leave without announcement. But, that is what makes me uniquely Southern, isn’t it? Being rebelliously old fashioned.

The point is, when you put yourself in the public arena, no matter what you say, nor what you do, something will piss off someone. HOWEVER! You also get to see some interesting people whom never comment come to life and say something that gets your head in a place that makes sense.

And she said, “And because of this I love you even more. I love Kate Bush!”

It hit me, then and there. I seem to gather people who are….off. Best way to put it. And those of you who are slightly “off” will totally smile and wear it proudly on a sleeve with a sense of honor. You know what I mean when I say that. It is a good thing.

The knitting “community,” this world of salacious hanks and skeins, this sphere of cliques and cool kids, pretty faces appropriately branded to homogony, this crafty “round about” of people coming in and leaving just as fast, has rules. (“This world of salacious hanks and skeins.” I think I rather like that. Like, I imagine a world of men knitting. The hot ones are named “Hank,” the not-so-hot ones named “Skein.”)

I think that is why I’ve had some staying power. You know I sold my first teddy bear nearly 10 years ago. Yup. This February will be 10 years since I sold my first bear. 10 years is a long time. There aren’t a lot of knitters that get to stay in the arena that long. I’m blessed because I am true to myself. I don’t hesitate to reveal who I am, what I want. I don’t mince words and I always have an opinion. But, in the process of writing about my life, sharing my life I reveal that I am always over there, on the edge, in the peripheral…much like the books and music and personalities I adore. They, too are over there at the fringe. And it dawned on me that I encounter people all the time who have that same inclination.

I seem to attract a great group of people that also feel disenfranchised by the knitting world, whom also have a deep feeling of expulsion for using the wrong yarn, for not having the right look, for “talking” about something else when you should be sitting there quietly counting in a knitting group, when what you really want to do is just explode.

And all the knitting in the world, and all the love that you get from the sharing of your craft doesn’t even compare, NOT EVEN CLOSE!, to seeing that you’re not alone, that someone else hears you. That you have companions on this trip, on these tales of a mad man knitting.

You don’t have “followers.” You have friends.

Ah, no comparison, really. Stevie and Kate are both brilliant and magical in their own way. As are you, and as am I. 😉

Sorry! Guess I didn’t have very much to say today! Ha!)

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